Nope, I don't buy it for one minute. I doubt whitmarsh even looked at Hulk.

I think he was swept in the hype, maybe Ferrari were right, I think McLaren have another Heikki

SP is backed by Telmex .... no one of significance is backing NH.

NH has the best pre F1 CV since LH ... the guy has a champions mentality. He was the obvious best choice if only personal driver characteristics was being looked at.... and on that measure PdR would also have been a better choice.

...Anyway SP is a good driver on his day and hopefully Macca can help him to find consistency.

but yes, It is true that today was a very poor day for the 2013 driver line up .... but TBH the drivers have never been the problem at Macca - even in 2011 when LH went postal the team was screwing up as much as he was... so we wait for Sam Michael and Whitmarsh to sort out trackside operations so that the hard work at Woking is not wasted as it has been this year.

A bit harsh but I do think Hamilton is the closest thing they have to a sprinkle of stardust.

McLaren are a great team with great resources that has lost its way. There is something wrong in the management structure, bad decisions are being made, they are being out-developed, out-raced, and left behind. For next year, they will be starting behind as the designs will have a lot of carry over - we already know Ferrari and Red Bull have systems on their cars McLaren don't, they both seem to be better with their tires, and have better grip and balance. Then we get to the operational errors, the car issues and the general poor race-craft on the pit wall... In terms of in season developement - they started ahead, both Ferrari and Red Bull had problems with their cars, not only have they addressed those problems (to a point), they have moved ahead of McLaren in terms of overall development. That is a serious shortfall from McLaren. As I said before, Hamliton staying or going is not the real problem, McLaren need to sort themselves out. A restructuring year may not be a bad idea as what they are doing at the moment simply isn't working and just repeating it next year isn't going to improve matters. A big shake up is needed, they are starting to feel like the new Williams.

IMO they should have taken Kimi and Hulk instead of Perez. He is only good when he doesn´t have to start inside of the top 10 and at race where starting on the harder tyres at the first stint and using the softer, faster tyres at the and has been a big advantage.

Maybe Macca should have waited a few more weeks after the decision of Lewis joining Mercedes

Too focused on PR .... they actually made sure to announce SP slightly ahead of Merc announcing LH ....Talk about putting the cart before the horse

This is the main problem with the Whitmarsh era ... to much priorty on PR.

Too focused on PR .... they actually made sure to announce SP slightly ahead of Merc announcing LH ....Talk about putting the cart before the horse

This is the main problem with the Whitmarsh era ... to much priorty on PR.

Don't know why every blame goes to MW. ...his job concern the team and races...hiring a driver is Board's decision(Martin is one of them..only) and where RD rules...it is not like MW says let's hire Perez and announce it today and everybody say 'yes sir..'....

This type of thing is more to RD's realm....his ego is too big to let a driver ditch his team first...

That is just media blabber. Mclaren were not affected by such tests, Mclaren were always in line with all front wing flexing limits. All we are seeing are Ferrari and RB with better upgrades. Singapre the car was blazing, Japan - the car was very good but for a suspension failure, Korea the car was Ok until that roll bar debacle.

Today in India, all there was was the tyres taking a really long time to come into the temperature range.

I have much hope for the more abrassive, warmer tracks coming up.

No way, tests definitely had plenty to do with the current pace. You don't go from dominating races to not even being a podium contender in two weeks without a negative change to your own car. Plus, as Alonso complained time and time again, they haven't brought any big updates.

McLaren are a great team with great resources that has lost its way. There is something wrong in the management structure, bad decisions are being made, they are being out-developed, out-raced, and left behind. For next year, they will be starting behind as the designs will have a lot of carry over - we already know Ferrari and Red Bull have systems on their cars McLaren don't, they both seem to be better with their tires, and have better grip and balance. Then we get to the operational errors, the car issues and the general poor race-craft on the pit wall... In terms of in season developement - they started ahead, both Ferrari and Red Bull had problems with their cars, not only have they addressed those problems (to a point), they have moved ahead of McLaren in terms of overall development. That is a serious shortfall from McLaren. As I said before, Hamliton staying or going is not the real problem, McLaren need to sort themselves out. A restructuring year may not be a bad idea as what they are doing at the moment simply isn't working and just repeating it next year isn't going to improve matters. A big shake up is needed, they are starting to feel like the new Williams.

In fairness, Ferrari this year had access to some McLaren info. On the other hand, when (if?) Ferrari have sorted out their windtunnel etc., they are likely to get stronger.

I'm hoping Macca will get the restructuring done before the start of next season. I don't know if they have to fire anyone, but they need to get systems in place for reliability, and most of all they need to sort out how decisions are taken during quali and race.

In fairness, Ferrari this year had access to some McLaren info. On the other hand, when (if?) Ferrari have sorted out their windtunnel etc., they are likely to get stronger.

I'm hoping Macca will get the restructuring done before the start of next season. I don't know if they have to fire anyone, but they need to get systems in place for reliability, and most of all they need to sort out how decisions are taken during quali and race.

Don't let the door hit on you on the way out. Can't wait for the next season without Hamilton fans in this thread. Finally.

I was a McLaren fan before a Lewis fan and I am joining him out the door, this team is a shambles and doesn't deserve the name McLaren, the only thing they excel at is having a big mouth. They pride themselves on engineering excellence when for the last few years its being a sham. You're welcome to the pale shadow of the once great mclaren team.

Its an embarrassment watching them from race to race, waiting for the fumble combined with big PR statements.

Nope, I don't buy it for one minute. I doubt whitmarsh even looked at Hulk.

I think he was swept in the hype, maybe Ferrari were right, I think McLaren have another Heikki

Lol you never know Perez may bring some good luck with him to maca , I think expecting Perez to match Lewis pace from the very beginning in his maca career is too much to expect, its too early to judge.

Ferrari had a mediocre car at the season start. What did they do? They have shut the f*** up and came up with a victory contender car in Spain.

Mclaren, on the other hand, after like 5-6 very costly pitsop errors did basically nothing until some genius at the team realised that they should practice more. They have been drooling over the record 2.4 sec pitsop ever since. Too bad you don't get championship points for that.

It's looking bleak for Mclaren, lost fastest driver and one of the best, Redbull now have the fastest car which will carry on next year, they have 2 guys who are poor at qualfying, reliability problems.

Not looking such a bad decision by Lewis now is it, wonder who will have the last laugh at the end of 2015.

It's looking bleak for Mclaren, lost fastest driver and one of the best, Redbull now have the fastest car which will carry on next year, they have 2 guys who are poor at qualfying, reliability problems.

Not looking such a bad decision by Lewis now is it, wonder who will have the last laugh at the end of 2015.

With or without Lewis, this year showed the weakness in McLaren as a team, their operational and development problems were clearly showed, and need to be corrected for next years. Sometimes we need more than a fast car, and this year that failed. I hope they look closer at their development rate and stop taking the mantle of "faster developers" in F1 because of 2009, because in later years they were clearly out developed, not only by RedBull, but by Ferrari too.

Honestly - I am expecting a poor couple of years for McLaren - the signs are all there right now. Really, it might be best to just grin and bare it until they sort themselves out. Next years drivers are dull/average - but even if they were both rockets, there are so many problems at McLaren at the moment that it would not matter. Finishing 3rd/4th this year in the WCC might be a good wake up call at Woking, they have gotten by the past few years by claiming to have only been beaten by Red Bull - the reality is that they have been in trouble since 2009 and have been lucky.

I think McLaren has always been slow at the start of races since 2010. On the other hand, Red Bull and Ferrari seem very very strong in 1st stints. I don't know the reason for this but I believe this could be due to the McLaren's fuel strategy for the races. Car also does notwork very well with full fuel. We have to fix this sensitiveness of the car. We have small operating window which makes thing difficult and it is hard to be consistent with it.

How is development rate bad at McLaren after 09? In 2010 they were pretty strong, till the blown diffusor showed up, which just didn't suit the initial design of the car. You could also get a Newey for implementing a blown diffusor on the -25 and I tell you, it won't be any better. In 2011 some say, they had the arguably better car at the end of the season. And this season they miraculously had 2 drop offs in the season (after China & Singapore) after the FIA made regulation changes. And they recovered mid-season. And yes this season was really bad but i don't think that this is something which is now standard in McLaren.
Btw. McLaren set a new record at India. 55 race starts with points gathered in a row. Former record holder was Ferrari between 99' and 03'.

How is development rate bad at McLaren after 09? In 2010 they were pretty strong, till the blown diffusor showed up, which just didn't suit the initial design of the car. You could also get a Newey for implementing a blown diffusor on the -25 and I tell you, it won't be any better. In 2011 some say, they had the arguably better car at the end of the season. And this season they miraculously had 2 drop offs in the season (after China & Singapore) after the FIA made regulation changes. And they recovered mid-season. And yes this season was really bad but i don't think that this is something which is now standard in McLaren.Btw. McLaren set a new record at India. 55 race starts with points gathered in a row. Former record holder was Ferrari between 99' and 03'.

That is not an impressive record at all, considering that from 99 to 02 only the top 6 cars got points. Now it's the top 10. In 2011 they started about .5s behind RB and were probably further back at the end of the season.

Thanks... Waiting for more confirmation, though - hopefully ATMandy can shed some light on this.... or one of the super committed Macca fans will take a break from bashing LH fans to show an interest in whether or not one of the two lead race engineers has left the team.

Engel seemed to think he was, I hope he can shed more light on this. He wasn't on Lewis' side of the garage during the race, and if he was present but not as a race engineer that tends to suggest he has been replaced.

Don't let the door hit on you on the way out. Can't wait for the next season without Hamilton fans in this thread. Finally.

I usually don't respond to critical comments from quite a number of people. In your case, I make an excemption because of the serious efforts that you have consistently demonstrated by bring to us those nice pictures of the car and team during each GP.

I don't hate Mclaren, I have been a Mclaren fan since 1990. It is true that I am not a fan of JB and to a far lesser extent MW

So mclaren werent better and the others werent poor, mclaren was just lucky and the others were unlucky? Ive heard it all now.

That's not really what I said - McLaren have been flattered by the fact that Ferrari hasn't been on top of its game since 2008, and Mercedes immediately fell away after 2009. These two teams under performing have allowed McLaren to get away with some pretty poor years in terms of overall team performance and yet still get second in the WCC.

If that's the case, perhaps you should brief the Board at the end of the season and explain why McLaren finished 3rd in the WCC despite having arguably the best performance baseline at the start of the season. Also add that the driver who brought the team the only WDC in 12 years is leaving despite your "best" efforts to keep him. Just say it's all Lewis' fault, or better yet, just say he started it.

The tone on how McLaren is currently being run is set by Management. I consider Alonso, Seb, and Lewis at the top of the sport, no top driver with other options would want to race for McLaren unless there is a dramatic change in the way the team is managed.

How is development rate bad at McLaren after 09? In 2010 they were pretty strong, till the blown diffusor showed up, which just didn't suit the initial design of the car. You could also get a Newey for implementing a blown diffusor on the -25 and I tell you, it won't be any better. In 2011 some say, they had the arguably better car at the end of the season. And this season they miraculously had 2 drop offs in the season (after China & Singapore) after the FIA made regulation changes. And they recovered mid-season. And yes this season was really bad but i don't think that this is something which is now standard in McLaren.Btw. McLaren set a new record at India. 55 race starts with points gathered in a row. Former record holder was Ferrari between 99' and 03'.